By Apurva Bhatt
In an attempt to cut red tape and delays in the building approvals system, the state government has planned a “one-stop” approval process for building projects in Mumbai. With land prices commanding a premium in the state capital, the real estate sector is the most flourishing industry in Mumbai If all goes as planned, a single application for issuance of commencement certificate from the architect of a building project would soon be adequate for securing the permission.
While the prevalent system puts the onus on the applicant to procure no-objection certificates from various civic, state, and central agencies, the same would now be shifted on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s building proposal department.
The CM-led state Urban Development department issued directives to the BMC in this regard last week. Accordingly, the BMC has began working out modalities for implementing the reform.
Sources said the government had asked the BMC to put the new mechanism in place within a month. Senior officials confirmed that the civic body had already taken up the proposal for revising building approval procedures.
Some 40 pre-conditions and at least 10 NOCs need to be obtained individually at present before commencement certificate is issued to building projects. These include clearances from BMC’s own water, sewerage, storm water drain, roads and traffic, development plan and the fire brigade departments.
A go-ahead is also required from the tree authority and the state pollution control board, besides clearances from the civil aviation ministry, the environment ministry and even the Archeological Society ofIndia (ASI), among others.
State’s Chief Secretary Swadhin Kshatriya, who has earlier served as Mumbai’s municipal commissioner, had conceded last week that the average time taken for allthese to be processed was over six months. The Chief Secretary has now ordered the municipal commissioner to bring it down to 30 days. An applicant has to visit multiple offices to obtain these NOCs. Allegations of bribe being demanded for these NOCs have often been raised, officials said.
Sources said that as per the new plan, the initial application format to be filled for the approval would itself be inclusive of various requisites for NOCs from civic departments. The BMC would also evolve a standard set of guidelines for these NOCs. Once an application for commencement certificate is made, it would be shared with allthe involved departments simultaneously.
